Why Not?
by Alanna n' Jon 4ever
Summary: Remake of the original 'Why Not' by me, first chapter is the same. See inside for summary. R&R.
1. There's a first for everything

**THIS IS A REMAKE OF MY ORIGINAL STORY, "WHY NOT?", A LILY AND JAMES FIC  
**chapter two of that original story is now a separate story  
this story will continue on a different path than that

**Summary: **The complete story of Lily Evans, from her first day to her last. Through turmoil, anger, learning, love, and acceptance, join Lily in this emotional, hilarious, sad, and memory-riddled retelling of Lily's all-too-short life.

**Disclaimer:** snorts Owning HP is a life goal. Too bad JK thought of it first. Drat. But don't worry. I'll come up with something soon enough… and it will be bigger than HP!!!! crying Nothing can ever beat HP… sucks for me but tis fabulous for Miss HP herself, JK Rowling.

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Chapter 1: There's a first for everything 

It was Lily's first day of her first year at Hogwarts. She nearly fainted when she ran through the barrier, let alone when she first glimpsed the train. As the warning whistle blew, Lily's thoughts were everywhere. Lily's muggle parents, who were incredibly skeptical at first about having a witch in the family but still wanted what was best for their daughter, stood on the platform, waving to their youngest daughter.

Lily waved back to her parents. She was nervous and needed the reassurance, true, but it was exasperating having them wave incessantly at her. Tearing her eyes from her mother's nervous looks, Lily boarded the Hogwarts Express for the first time. She looked around, noticing that all the compartments around her were full. _Oh, no_, she thought. _I knew this would happen._ Telling herself that it was everyone else's first day too, she steeled herself for impact. She picked a random compartment, one that was preferably not too full, and slid open the door. Inside was a small blonde girl with large brown eyes and an extremely tan girl with long black hair pulled back in a ponytail. They looked up at Lily with wide eyes as she entered the compartment.

She took a breath. "Hi. I'm Lily."

The small girl piped up first. "Natalie."

Taking her cue from the first girl, the second one smiled. "I'm Eden." Lily noticed that Eden had a strange accent. She thought it was American, but she couldn't be sure. Could be Canadian.

Lily noticed that Natalie and Eden stared, like, a lot. She smiled to ease the tension. It didn't work. The girls sat in silence for the longest silence in the history of… everything (look it up- Guinness Book of Wizarding World Records). Eden pulled out a magazine with the advertisement "Tone Yourself: Everything You Need To Do To Get Rock-Hard Abs". Natalie chewed gum. And stared. And chewed some more.

Seeing Eden engrossed in her magazine, Lily turned to Natalie. "So, this is your first year?"

Chomp, chomp. Nod.

"Mine too. You nervous?"

Chomp. Nod. Chomp.

Lily was getting exasperated. There was only so much small talk could be made before Lily had had enough. "Do you have any siblings who've been here?"

Shake of head. Chomp.

Chomp.

Pop.

Chomp.

Deciding that Natalie was not going to contribute effectively to the conversation, Lily looked out the window. They were passing over rolling countryside after rolling countryside. After a good hour or two, Lily's eyes drooped and she fell into a light sleep.

Lily woke abruptly as the train's whistle screeched through the corridors. Natalie was poking her.

"Yes?"

Chomp. "You should get changed."

"Right… thanks."

Chomp.

Natalie reached up to get her robes from her suitcase.

Finally, the three girls pressed their noses to the window as the train neared the largest castle Lily had ever seen. It was absolutely humongous, with towers and turrets reaching higher than the eye could see.

Eden gasped. "Wow."

Lily nodded and gulped.

Natalie chomped.

"Now, you are about to enter the Great Hall. This is where students gather for meals, activities, and study when seeking a change from the house common rooms. Now is the Start of Term feast, and next is first year Sorting. There are four houses to be sorted into – Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin. We will walk up to the staff table and I will call each of your names in turn to adorn the Sorting Hat. When you hear your name, please step forward, place the hat on your head, and wait for it to announce your new House. Once sorted, kindly step aside to your respective table to allow for the next sortee. Everyone ready?"

McGonagall turned on her heel and marched through the largest wooden double doors Lily had ever seen. The first years pushed and shoved to be the first to enter the Great Hall. Many 'oohed' and 'aahed' as they glimpsed the arched ceiling, adorned with clouds and sun. One girl screamed, and was shushed immediately by the surrounding, rather nervous first years.

Lily was… nervous. She hoped she was in Ravenclaw. That was supposedly the smart house. She thought Hufflepuff sounded a bit sketchy, and Gryffindor too nerve-wracking. Slytherin was oddly menacing. Yep, Ravenclaw sounded perfect. As they approached the large table at the far end of the Hall, Lily noticed all the older students appraising the first years. She could tell they were sizing them up, deciding and betting on which ones would be in their house. Eden had said her older sister Bianca was going to be a third year, and her oldest brother Sean was a sixth year. Lily thought she saw Bianca, merely because she looked like an identical, older Eden.

McGonagall started through the names on a clipboard, staring with "Abelman, Sasha". Finally she came upon "Evans, Lily."

Lily nearly swallowed her tongue. She heard Natalie's gum before her voice.

Pop. "Just do it."

Lily slowly ascended the four stairs to the small stool and donned the old hat.

"Ah, Lily Evans. Let's see, excellent mind, you'd make an wonderful Ravenclaw."

_Yes, please, Ravenclaw._

"On the other hand…"

_No, no other hand. Just Ravenclaw._

"A great and powerful sense of loyalty and the capacity to love unconditionally. If I do say so myself, there's also quite a temper there. I think… GRYFFINDOR!!"

Lily's heart sunk slightly, but at least it wasn't Slytherin. She slid the hat off her head and smiled hesitantly as she walked toward the Gryffindor table. Gryffindor students cheered and clapped her on the back. One particularly friendly-looking boy pulled her into the seat next to him.

"Hullo. I'm Wes." He motioned to his friend around him. "Here we have, let's see, Jamie, Mindy, Henry, Bianca (Lily noted Eden's older sister), Olivia, Matt, and Jason. Over there is Hannah, Tyler, Ryan, Riley, and Leah. So you're…"

"Lily. Evans. Lily Evans."

"Nice to meet you, Lily Evans." Everyone around her shook her hand.

"Jamie."

"Bianca."

"Mindy."

"Henry."

"Olivia."

"Jason."

"Matt."

Lily was overwhelmed.

Turning back to the sorting hat, she noticed Eden stepping up to the plate. Bianca leaned forward eagerly.

Lily looked at her. "Think she'll be in Gryffindor?"

"Naw, she's too wimpy. I'm thinking Hufflepuff."

A black-haired boy Lily thought looked slightly familiar leaned in. "I'm betting on Slytherin. She can be a real witch when she wants to be. No pun intended, of course. And yet, Ravenclaw's a sure bet too. That kid is smart. Bit scary, really. Yep. It's gonna be Ravenclaw." Lily figured this must be Sean, Eden's older brother. Apparently both Sean and Bianca were in Gryffindor.

The hat was stirring, and Eden was biting her lip. "RAVENCLAW!!"

"Aw man."

"Cough up, Bianca."

Bianca reached into her pocket, pulled out a gold coin, and miserably slapped it into her brother's outstretched palm.

Lily nearly laughed. They had bet on Eden's sorting! Inside, though, she was a bit jealous. After all, Eden was in Ravenclaw, Lily's dream house, when Lily was stuck in Gryffindor.

_Come on, Lily_, _you can't exactly complain. You're at Hogwarts! That's exciting enough. Besides, I'm sure you'll get used to Gryffindor… eventually. May take a while. Or forever. Maybe you won't ever get used to it. But still…_

Finally up in her dormitory, Lily was pleased to note that the girls seemed friendly. Natalie was in Hufflepuff, apparently (Lily hadn't been listening, she zoned out at "George, George"). Secretly, Lily was glad. She wasn't sure she could live with Natalie all the time. Seeing her during classes was great, but hearing that gum popping as she went to sleep, and Lily was pretty sure she'd kill someone eventually. And it would probably be Natalie. Or the gum company. Stupid Drooble's for coming up with the stupid everlasting gum idea. Stupid, stupid, stupid. It's not even like they made any money from Natalie. She still had the same piece of gum, and hadn't exactly needed to go buy more. Like Lily thought before; stupid, stupid, stupid.

By the time 'lights out' came around, Lily was ready for bed. In Gryffindor, but well fed and happy, Lily fell asleep with a peaceful smile playing at her lips.

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**A/N: **Since this is the same as the first chapter of the older version of this story (aaahh), and some of you will have read this already, I will be updating relatively quickly. Get excited for that!!

Hope you like it. It's short, and not that exciting, but what first day of school is? More action later.

Much thanks to **Fantasyatheart** for her wonderful editing!! She will be helping me out with this story from time to time, so if anything is wrong with the story, blame her. It's all her fault.

jk...

rowling!!!

no i'm kidding.

but seriously.

next chapter up soon!!


	2. Late again

**Disclaimer**: I don't own anything... except Anna... the tiny, tragic particle of a character... but still, it's something tear

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Chapter 2: Late Again 

A loud clunking sound forced Lily to open her eyes. Looking around, she noticed one of her roommates had fallen over her trunk.

"Sorry. Bit clumsy. Didn't mean to wake you. But, uh, don't you have class now?"

Lily sat bolt upright. "Why? What time is it?"

"It's 8:30, mate. Class started a half hour ago."

Lily nearly screamed. "Thanks…"

"Anna."

"Right." Lily grabbed her clothes, changed, and didn't even bother brushing her hair. Pulling her bag along, she ran through the common room and out the portrait, desperately hoping she could find the right classroom. Pulling out her schedule, she noticed it listed "Charms" as the first class of the day. Did she have any idea where the charms classroom was? Nope. None. Zip. Zilch. She was officially screwed.

Some students walked by in the opposite direction, chatting animatedly. They were quite large, and frightened Lily a bit, but they were her only hope.

"'Scuse me." She bit her lip. "Could you help me find the charms classroom?"

One of the girls turned. "First year, eh?"

Lily nodded.

"Well, get used to getting lost. It'll happen quite often." She pointed down the hallway, back the way Lily had come. "Go straight down until you're at the portrait of Albert the Albino Antelope, then turn left, go down the stairs, turn right, go down the other stairs, and go to the end of the corridor. Not too hard to follow, eh?"

Lily gulped. "Thanks."

"Doan' mention it." The girl turned and rejoined her friends.

Lily nearly cried. Attempting to follow the girls' instructions, and only getting lost once (or twice, at most three times), she finally found a classroom at the end of the corridor with loud popping and whizzing sounds issuing from it. Must be Charms.

She took a deep breath, set her shoulders, and pushed open the door. As she entered, the whole class turned to stare at her. The professor, startled at the sudden hush, turned abruptly and noticed the newcomer.

He crossed his arms, "And you are?"

"Lily, sir."

"And why, might I ask, are you late to the first class of the term?"

"Sorry, sir, I… overslept."

He huffed. "Since it's the first day, I will excuse you. But do not let this happen again or I will be forced to give you detention. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir. Sorry, sir."

Noticing the class's continued silence, the professor frowned slightly. "Come, children, this is not a menagerie. We do not stare here. Please continue with your work."

Lily spotted Eden, who motioned her over. As she set her bag down and stared at the gigantic room, Lily turned to her friend. "So this is Charms?"

Eden nodded. "And that's Professor Flitwick. He's nice enough. I mean, just think, you were half an hour late to a forty-five minute class and he didn't even give you detention! If I was the teacher, I would have been so…"

Lily stared at her.

Eden stared back. "Oh, come on, you know you were surprised. How many teachers would do that? None! Only Flitwick. Don't look at me like that. I didn't mean it like that. I only meant… oh, nevermind."

They sat in silence for the rest of the class period, and attempted to levitate feathers. There were no major mishaps, but five minutes after Lily's entrance one feather burst and split into thirty or so tiny feathers, which all started flying around as though possessed. They spun and twirled and tried to hit people's heads.

The whole class was laughing, and even Professor Flitwick had to suppress a smile, after returning the feather to its original state, of course.

Soon the bell rang and it was time for Transfiguration. Lily and Eden pointedly did not look at each other, and each walked toward the door without looking at one another. Eden had Potions next, and neither one stopped to say goodbye.

On her way to Transfiguration (she followed the other students, not knowing the way herself), she spotted two boys laughing rather loudly as the walked along.

"That was an amazing trick, Sirius. Where'd you learn that one?"

"Aw, just picked it up. It's crazy the stuff you learn from the telly." Both boys guffawed at this, nearly tripping over each other.

"Did you see that girl who walked into Charms late? Wasn't that the funniest thing?!"

"Absolutely hilarious, mate. Top notch. And she turned all red! That was great, James."

"Excellent start to the day."

"Agreed."

Lily flushed. They were talking about her! Even more upsetting was when she noticed them turning into the Transfiguration room. The same room she herself would enter in about four seconds… this should be interesting.

_Oh, well,_ thought Lily, though she was quite shook up. _At least I'm not late to this class_.

The bell rang.

_Darn it._

_

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**A/N**_: Told you I'd update quickly!!

R & R, please: )


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